The internet is the world's largest and most content-rich network accessible to the average person. It is possible for nearly any person in the world, provided they have access to an internet-linkable device, to almost instantly obtain content from nearly any source in the world. However, content-based experiences on the internet still remain a relatively individual event. Each user accesses, downloads and views content. While others may simultaneously and individually access and view the same content, and may send content to each other via e-mail or some similar means, the content remains a passive medium. Social interaction largely takes place separately from content.
Search tools such as GOOGLE and YAHOO! allow users to specify keywords to guide a search and return a result that is relevant to their interests. However, those search tools only provide access to content, they do not link the user with other users who are also sharing an interest in either the same or similar content. Likewise, innumerable chat rooms, forums, interactive games, clubs, and other interest-centric user interactions exist and are internet accessible, but a user must typically become aware of them then affirmatively contact the group(s) to interact with others relative to their shared interests.
Thus, content and users remain relatively compartmentalized in internet space, with any overlap between the two being limited to that resulting from the creativity and affirmative actions of each individual user. Further, the creation of links between users unknown to each other are additionally limited temporally, in that a user of a chat room, for example, cannot generally interact with other users who are not also in the chat room at that particular time. Thus, many opportunities for social linking of users having the same and/or similar interests are missed due to a lack of temporal coincidence in their actions.
At current, there do not appear to be any tools or methods by which a user can instantly become aware of and interact with others sharing a common interest using content itself as a linking basis. Additionally, the existing methods for interaction on the internet (or any network) are limited in their capabilities with regard to sharing content real-time between users. Users simply continue to perform internet searches both for content and for opportunities to interact with others sharing similar interests.